25th Annual Star City Holiday Parade

The 25th Annual Star City Holiday Parade Saturday, December 5th, will feature Marvel Comic Super Heroes and five new giant balloons.

Five giant balloons will make their Lincoln debuts as part of the 25th annual Star City Holiday Parade Saturday, December 5 in downtown Lincoln.  They are Mighty Mouse, a race car, Ziggy, Kermit the Frog, and a large basketball. They will join parade veterans Elmo, sponsored by Union Bank & Trust, and the Capitol Sower, another cold-air balloon, sponsored by the Sowers Club of Lincoln.

“The giant balloons are always a crowd favorite, and we are excited to have so many new ones for our 25th anniversary,” said Deb Johnson, Executive Director of Updowntowners, Inc., which produces the parade in conjunction with the City.  “We also have more marching bands and pre-parade entertainment than ever before, so we hope to see a large crowd cheering on every entry.”

This year’s parade theme is “Dreams.  Memories. Wishes.”  Pre-parade entertainment begins at 9:30 a.m. and the parade begins at 11 a.m.  For a map of the parade route and full details, click on this link:  http://www.updowntowners.org/events/index.html?topic=detail&type=l&ei=131

Mayor Beutler and his wife Judy will ride in a horse- drawn carriage and will be joined by twoSpecial Olympics athletes who will compete in the 2010 USA National Games in Lincoln next July.   Governor Dave Heineman and his wife, Sally Ganem, also will ride in a carriage again in this year’s parade.

The parade begins at 14th and “M” and continues east to Centennial Mall, north to “O” and west to 10th.  The City is offering free parking for the parade in its lots and garages, those marked with the green “Park It” signs.  Children are encouraged to bring their letters to Santa with a return address.  U.S. Postal Service employees will pick up the letters during the parade, and Santa will write back to them before the holidays.